When The Wells Run Dry
We use more oil than we find, and if producers are
fixing their figures the end could be closer than thought
Adam Porter
Wednesday May 25, 2005
The
Guardian
For full story see…
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1491029,00.html
Predicting the end of the age of oil can be a sticky business. The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (Aspo), a collection of industry figures, politicians and academics, this week held its annual meeting at the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.
From quiet beginnings three years ago, Aspo is no longer just "bubbling under" in being taken seriously. Delegates had to squeeze past no fewer than 10 documentary crews, a nest of television cameras and a phalanx of reporters just to grab their seat in the packed auditorium.
Rather than talking about when oil could "run out", Aspo prefers to predict that global production may be at, or approaching, its height. The world is using more oil than it finds, and discoveries of oil fields peaked in the 1960s. Despite technological advances since then, new field discoveries are at an all-time low. This, said delegates, has led to the current lack of any "cushion" between supply and demand, and to the consequent high prices. The outcome for the world, if Aspo is correct, is catastrophic.
For full story see…
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1491029,00.html